Car heater and windshield defroster



l l w 2, h 4 Q 2 e e h S R3 E T s o R .m MD2 D u T Eml M6, n m 2 UN. H 1 M ,CWe DS SN A w .En T AA .E H, .R A C Feb. 29, 1944.

Feb. 29, 1944. Y A. J. scHuTT ET Al. 2,342,901

CAR HEATER AND WINDSHIELD DEFROSTER Filed Sept. 26, 1942 3 SheetShSheet 2 wllmunlmlung' I MW ttornegs Fbs 29, 1944-` A. J. scHuTT ET AL 2,342,901

CAR HEATER AND WINDSHIELD DEFROSTER FiledSept. 246, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 mventors Patented Feb. 29, 1944v l y UNITEDl STATES PATIENT (IFFICIE.k

can HEATER AND wnvnsnmm pnraos'raa Arthur J. Schutt, Lockport, N. Y., and William J. i*

de Beaubien, Pontiac, Mich., assignors to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application September 26, 1942, Serial No. 459,844 4 Claims. (Cl. 237-12.3)

' charge openings located at the lower inside edge of the windshield. A second heat radiating member is provided inside the casing, and an adjustable damper arrangement makes it possible to' cause the air entering the easing to flow through the heat radiating member before being dise charged through the conduits for windshield defrosting or Ventilating purposes, or if unheated air is preferred for these purposes, the air entering the casing may be caused to ilow directly therethrough without passing through the heat radiating member. Both of the heat radiating members are heated by liquid from the engine cooling circulating systems, and valve means actuated by a temperature responsive device located Within the body'compartment serves to control the rate of iiow oi such liquid to make it possible to maintain the temperature oi the air within the body at any desired point. this'point being variable by adiusting the position of a regulating member. The amount oi air flowing into the underseat heater may be varied or cut ci! entirely by adjusting the position of a valve located in the air tube. Under ordinary driving conditions, sutilcient air for heating and deirosting or ventilating purposes will be forced into the inlet end of the tube by the forward movement of the vehicle, but a blower is provided to force air into the tube when the vehicle is standing still or is moving slowly, or whenever more air is desired for heating.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear upon reference to the specication and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a motor vehicle, taken from a point at the front and left hand side.thereoi, showing the outline of the vehicle in dot-and-dash lines, and our improved heating and Ventilating apparatus, which is associated therewith, in i'ull lines.

Figure 2 is a face view of a housing which is located inside the car body underneath the cowl thereof, with which housing the controls for the heating and Ventilating apparatus are associated, 55

Figure 3 is a sectional view. taken on the line n Figure 5 is a sectional view. taken on the line 5--5 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is 4a fragmentary sectional view. taken on the line 8-6 of Figure 5.

The reference numeral i0 indicates the body oi' a motor vehicle having windshield sections i2. a cowl i4, and a dashboard il which separates the body compartment from the engine compartment. i8 is the engine. 20 are the iront fenders and 22 is a grille located in the front face oi' the left hand fender, this grille being positioned near the lower edge of the tender and having vertically extending slots formed through it.

Located under the fender and in back oi' the grille 22 is a housing 2l containing a blower 2B adapted to be driven by anelectric motor 28, the inlet opening to the blower being covered by a screen I0. Connected to the outlet 32 of the blower housing is a tube N of relatively large diameter which extends rearwardly under the fender and is inclined downwardly adjacent the dashboard in order that it may pass under the iioor J8 oi' the vehicle. Positioned under the front seat Il is a heat radiating member I0 of any of the well-known constructions having vertically extending air passages located between tubes or channels adapted to have hot water from tige engine cooling system circulated through em. v

The heat radiating member il is mounted within a casing 42 which extends downwardly through an openintin the vehicle iioor, being 1 supported in the opening by an outwardly proiecung aange, u which rests on top of and is se cured to the iloor. -The rearward end of the tube Mis connecter?, to the lower portion o! the casing so that air ilowing through the tube will be forced into the casing and will iiow upwardly through the vertically extending air passages in the member 40, becoming heated thereby and being discharged against a horizontally extending plate 4l spaced above the heat radiating member, which' causes it to flow forwardly and rearwardly into the spaces in front oi and behind the front seat.

Mounted upon the dashboard il under the cowl I4 is a casing 4l, which for convenience of manufacture is formed o1' two sections 50 and |52 connected together by screws il. Bolts Il. havlng their heads 5l secured in depressed portions damper 1| v dempers extending all and being movable l formed in the section I4. extend through holes in the dashboard to secure the casing 4l thereto.

Located in the casing 40 is a heat radiating member l2 of any of the well-known types having vertically extending air passages 04 located between tubes or channels 00 adapted to have hot water from the engine cooling system circulated through them. The heat radiating member 02 is spaced from the center wall of the section 52 of the casing to form a passageway 00, the purpose of which will be described presently. Extending downwardly from the heat radiating member 02 is a partition 10 which at its lower ena terminates sions side of a rod 1: which, as shown in Figure 5, extends transversely across the casing and is supported at its ends in holes 14 formed in the section 40 of the casing.

Pivotally supported on the rod 12 is an upper and a lower damper 10, both of these the way across the casing independently of each other. These dampers are supported on the rod by bearing portions 00 which are bent around the' rod. As shown in Figure 3 the upper damper 1| when in closed position seats against a downwardly inclined flange 02 extending from a member 04 secured to the section l0 of the casing, while the lower damper Il when closed seats against an upwardly inclined flange 00 extending from the member 04. The latter has a circular opening 00 formed in it which registers with an opening formed in the center wall of the section 50 of ioV the casing, there being a flange 90 for-mad I around the latter opening, within which flange is received a tube 02 which extends through the dashboard and down to the tube 04, into which it is connected so that some of the air flowing through the tube 04 may flow upwardly into the casing 40.

Secured to the section l2 of the casing 40 by screws 94 is a control housing 00, which extends rearwardly in the car to a point wherein the end wall of the housing, which will be termed a face plate, lies under the instrument panel in order that the handles of the controls may be easily accessible to the vehicle operator. One of the controls supported in this housing is that for adjusting the position of the dampers 10 and 14. This consists of a shaft Il which is supported at one end in the face plate |00 of the housing 04, and the other end extends through a hole formed in the rod 12, being journalled therein. A control lmob |02 is secured to the outer end of the shaft, while a double lobed cam |04 is fastened to the other end by a set screw |00. Rotation of the shaft 00 in one direction by the knob |02 causes the nose portions |00 of the double cam to engage a curvedmember ||0 secured to the damper 10, resulting in that damper being moved to open position, as shown in Figure 4. Rotation of the shaft in the other direction causes the nose portions of the cam to engage a curved member ||2 secured to the damper 10, thus opening that member. A coil spring ||4 extending around the rod 12 between bearing portions 00 of the dampers 10 and 10 is connected to the two dampers in such manner as to hold them against the cam at all times, thus returning the dampers to closed position after the cam has been turned back and also serving to prevent rattling of the dampers at the points where they are supported upon the rod 12.

To hold the shaft 00 in adjusted position, the following structure is provided. The shaft has flattened portions IIB formed on it, and ill 1S a washer having a central opening out to conform with the shape of the flattened portions so that the washer will turn with the shaft. This washer has projections formed on it which are adapted to be received in depressions |20 formed in the central wall of the casing section l2, and a compression spring |22, seating against a washer |24 which is retained against movement on the shaft by a cotter pin |20, holds the washer ||0 against the wall of the casing section so that the projections on the washer will be held in the depressions |20 to positively hold the shaft in the position to which it has been adjusted.

Referring to Figures 1 and 5, hot water from the engine cooling circulating system flows through the pipe |20 into the inlet header |30 at one side of the heat transfer member 02 and then flows horizontally across the latter through the tubes or channels 60 into the outlet header |32 from which it is conducted downwardly through a pipe |I4 into a housing |06 in which is located a valve for automatically controlling the iiow of the water in proportion to the temperature of the air inside the body compartment of the vehicle. Since the construction of this valve forms no part of the present invention, it will not be described in detail, but it will suihce to state that it is actuated by the expansion or contraction of a volatile fluid contained in a bulb |31 located at any desired point in the vehicle body compartment, such as on the dashboard under the cowl, as shown in Figure 1, this bulb being connected to the operating part of the valve by a capillary tube |30. It will be understood that as the temperature inside the body compartment rises, the fluid expands and this expansion tends to close the valve to reduce or cut oil! entirely the flow of hot water.

To control the point at which the valve will be operated to reduce or cut on' the flow of the hot water, an adjustment is provided, this consisting of a shaft |40 which is supported in the face plate |00 of the housing 96, there being a control knob |42 secured on this end of the shaft. To the other end of the shaft is connected one leg of a U-shaped member |44, the other leg of this member being secured to a shaft |40 which extends from the valve housing |36. Rotation of the shaft |40 by the knob |42 causes the shaft |40 to be rotated and this varies the point at which the expansible fluid will start to close the valve to reduce or cut off the flow of hot water through the heat radiating member 62. In other words, as indicated in Figure 2, moving the knob |42 in a clockwise direction will change the setting of the shaft |45 so that it will be necessary for a higher temperature to be reached in the vicinity of the bulb |31 before the expansible fluid therein will cause the valve in the housing |34 to start closing, which action will be well understood by those skilled in the art.

The hot water after passing through the valve housing |36 flows through pipe |48 down into the heat radiating member 40 in the underseat heater, and after passing through this member returns to the engine cooling circulating system through the pipe |50 which is connected to the inlet side of the water pump |52.

located in the tube 34 is a pivoted valve |54, the position of which may be adjusted by the following mechanism. |55 is a shaft journalled at one end in a bracket |56 secured to the casing section 52 and in the other end in the face plate |00 of the housing 98, there being a control knob |88 secured on the latter end of this shaft. |88 is a lever secured on the shaft near the other end thereof, there being a coil spring |8210- cated between this lever and the bracket |88 for the purpose of holding the shaft in adiusted position and preventing rattling of the parts. `Secured lto the end of the lever is a fitting |84 having a hole |88 formed in it, in which hole is received the end of a, Bowden wire |88, the wire being clamped in the hole by a screw |18 threuded into the iltting. The other end of the Bowden wire is connected to a lever |12 secured to the valve |54, so that turning of the control knob |58 in a clockwise direction tothe "oi'f position marked on the face plate as shown in' Figure 2, will move the valve 54 to a position wherein it will close the passageway in the tube 84 so that no air will be allowed to flow to the heater, all of the air entering the tube therefore having to flow into the casing 48. When the knob.|58 is turned to the on position, the valve |84 is moved to open position so that some of the air flowing through the tube 84 may enter the underseat heater casing 42. The shaft |55 has another lever |14 securedto it, and a bent-over portion |18 on a link |18 extends through a hole in the outer end of this lever. At the other end of the link another bent-over portion |80 ts into a hole formed in the outer end of a lever |82. The inner end of thislever has a hole formed in it, and shaft 88 extends through this hole so that it is free to rotate relative to the lever. Secured to shaft 88 is an arm |8| having a bent over portion |88 which, when the knob |02 is turned in a coun`y terclockwise direction to the "de-ice position. will engage the edge of the lever |82 and will swing it to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 6, and since the lever |82 is connected by link |18 to lever |14, the latter will likewise be swung to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 6. This will cause the shaft |55 to be rotated in a clockwise direction to a position wherein the Bowden wire |88 will move the valve |54 to a point wherein it will nearly close the passageway in the tube 84 so that substantially all of the air flowing through the tube will pass through the tube 82 into the casing 48. At this time the arrow on knob |58 will point to "olf position on the face plate. It will be understood that when levers |14 and |82 and link |18 are in the full line position shown in Fig.,6, the knob |58 will be set to the "on position, and that they are swung to the dotted line position in that ligure when knob |02 is turned to de-ice position by the engagement of portion |88 with the lever |82 as described above. y

The rotative movement of the knob |02 and shaft 98 in a counterclockwise direction is limited by portion|83 on arm |8| engaging a projection |85 ,extending from a stamping |81 secured to the rear side of the face plate. Rotation in the opposite direction is limited by portion |88 striking an angularly inclined projection |88 ex tending from stamping |81 on the other side of shaft 88. |9| is a compression spring surrounding shaft 88 and extending between the rear side of the face plate and lever |82, thereby forcing the latter against arm |8| to hold it in proper position and to prevent rattling of the parts.

It will be seen that because of the fact that arm |82 is loosely mounted on the shaft andis only moved by counterclockwise rotation of knob |82 when portion |83 on arm |8| engages-it, rotation of knob |58 will not change the position of knob |82 when the latter is in either the "oii" or normal" position, because when the knob is in either of those positions, the portion |88 on arm |8| will be swung up t'o a position wherein it cannot be engaged by lever |82. In other words, the connection between arm |8| and lever |82 is a type of lost motion connection wherein one drives the other only through a portion of its range of movement.

y|84, is a switch mounted in the face plate |80 of the lhousingy 88 serving to control the operation of the electric motor 28 which drivesthe blower 28 located at the tron't end of the tube, |88 and |88 being the wires which lead to the motor `and to the battery. Another` switch |80 mounted in the face plate controls a lightemot shown) which is located under the instrument panel and above the face plate to illuminate the controls at night. |82 and |84 arethe wires leading from this switch to the battery and to the light.

In the upper part of the lcasing 48 there are tubular projections |88 formed in each of the side' walls, and as shown in Figure 1 flexible conduits |88 connected to these projections conduit air from the casing up to nozzles 280 located at the inside lower edge of each of the windshield sections I2.

In the operation of the device, when it is desired to heat the interiorvof the car body, the control knob |42 is set to the position which it is estimated will provide the desired temperature to be reached, and the knob |58 is set to "onf position which opens the valve |54 permitting air entering the tube 84 due to the forward movement of the car to iiow into the underseat heater, from which after becoming heated, the air ow into the spaces in front of and behind the front seat. At the same time some of the air being forced into the tube 34 flows up through the tube 82 into the lower part of the casing 48. Under normal cold weather conditions the windshield can be deirosted simply by discharging unheated air against it. To do this, the knob |82 is set to the position marked normal" on the face plate and this through rotation of the shaft 88 and cam |04 opens the damper 18, which permits the air -entering the casing to flow up through the passageway 88 and outv through the projections |88 and thence through the tubes |58 and nozzles 200 to the Windshield sections. At this time the damper 15 will be held closed by the spring ||4 so that none of the air entering the casing will flow through the heat radiating member 62. The air being discharged from the nozzles 200 being unheated will serve to ventilate the interior of the car body, as well as to defrost the windshield, it insuring an adequate supply of fresh air from outside the vehicle without creating drafts as would be the case were the vehicle windows opened. If it should be desired to utilize heated air for defrosting purposes, asv when frost or ice form on the windshield, the knob |02 is turned to the position marked de-ice .on the face plate. This allows the valve 18 to close and opens the valve 18 so that all the air entering the casing must flow through the heat radiating member 82 :before being discharged against the windshield. Adjustment of the knob |02 to this l position causes the link |18 and associated levers heat radiating member Il to the windshield. In other words, the valve III is automatically moved to nearly closed position when the greatest amount of heated air is needed to quickly remove frost or ice from the windshield. The reason it is not moved to entirely closed position at this time is that it is desired to have some air flowing through the underseat heater to heat the interior of the car body.

Ii' some air is desired for either heating, defrosting or ventilating purposes, than is being iorced into the tube 34 by the forward movement of the car, such as when the vehicle is moving slowly or is standing still, the switch III may be turned to "on position which will start the electric motor 2l in operation to drive the blower 2l, which will forceair through the tube 34 into either or both the underseat heater and the casing 48. If a higher temperature for either heat'- ing or defrosting purposes is desired, rotation or the knob |42 toward the position marhed "high" on the face plate will keep the water flow control valve iIt to stay open longer so that more hot water from the engine cooling circulating system will flow through both the heat radiating members 40 and I2, while rotation oi' the knob |42 in the opposite direction will cause it to start closing earlier to reduce the ilow of hot water, thereby keeping the temperature lower. In other words, it is possible by setting the control knob Il! to the proper position, to maintain any desired temperature inside the body lcompartment whenever the engine is being operated.

When the control knob il! is set to the "oil" position indicated on the face plate, both of the dampers 'Il and 'Il will be in closed position, as shown in Figure 3. This will prevent any of the air ilowing through the tubes al and 02 from passing either through the heat radiating member s2 or through the passageway Il and thence into the car through the nozzles 2li. This is particularly advantageous when the vehicle is passing through an area where there are noxious odors present, as such odors may thus be excluded from the interior of the vehicle body. At such times the control knob III is moved to the "oiT position marked on the face plate, in which position the valve IM in the tube ll will be completely closed, so that none of the outside air entering the tube ll will be permitted to flow through the underseat heater.

It will be seen from the above that we have devised a structure which may be utilized in a variety of ways to heat or ventilata the interior of the body compartment or to defrost the windshield. Under normal conditions when the vehicle is moving in a forward direction, a sumcient supply of air tor these purposes is obtained solely as. a result oi' such movement so that it is not necessary to operate the blower, but when for any reason a greater supply of air is desired, it may be obtained by turning on the. blower. The temperature within the body compartment may be automatically maintained at any desired point by adjusting the position of the water now control valve, and either heated or unheated air may be utilized for ventilating the interior of the vehicle or defrosting the windshield. Also when the greatest amount of air is needed for quickly removing ice or frost from the windshield, the supply of air to the underseat heater is automatically reduced to insure that most of the air entering the vehicle is utilized for such defrosting purpose. A further advantage of the construction is that under none of the various types o! operating cohditions possible is there any recirculation of tbe air within the body compartment, fresh air from outside the vehicle being provided at all times.

While the invention is susceptible of various modincations and alternative constructions, we have shown in the drawings and have described in detail the preferred embodiment, but it is to be understood that we do not thereby intendto limit the invention to the speciilc form disclosed, but intend to cover all modifications and alternative constructions falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

n We claim:

l. m a motor vehicle, the combination of a heater located inside the vehicle, a tube adapted to conduct air from ouside the vehicle to the heater, a casing located inside the vehicle. a conduit leading from said tube to said casing, a valve associated with the tube operable to regulate the amount oi air admitted to the heater.

passing through the tube will flow through the conduit and the said casing, and tubes adapted to conduct air from said casing to the lower inside edge of the vehicle windshield.

2. In a motor vehicle. the combination of an underseat heater, a casing located inside the vehicle, a heat radiating member within said casing, conduit means adapted to conduct air from the front end of the vehicle into both said underseat heater and said casing, a valve associated with said conduit means operable to vary the amount of air flowing into said heater and said casing, adjustable dampers in said casing adapted to cause the air entering therein to flow either through or around the heat radiating member, a member connecting said valve with said adjustable dampers whereby when the latter are set to a position will cause the air entering the casing to flow through the heat radiating member, the valve will be moved to a position which will shut of! the now of air to the underseat heater, and tubes adapted to conduct air from the casing to a point at the lower inside edge of the windshield.

3. In a motor vehicle, the combination of an underseat heater, a casing located within the vehicle, tubing adapted to conduct air from the front end oi the vehicle into both the underseat heater and the casing, a valve associated with the conduit means operable to regulate the amount of air admitted to the underseat heater, a heat radiating member located within said casing, a pair of adjustable dampers in said casing, said dampers when set in one position causing the air entering the casing to flow through the heat radiating member and when set in the opposite position causing the air to fiow around the heat radiating member, means connecting said valve with said dampers whereby when the latter are set to the position wherein the air entering the casing is caused to iiow through the heat radiating member, said valve will be set to a t late the amount of air admitted to the heater,- a

heat radiating member located within the casing, dampers located within said casing adapted to be adjusted to cause air entering the casina to flow either through or around the heat radiating member therein. a cntrol for changing the position of said dampers, a second control adapted to change the position of said valve, said valve control being so connected with the damper control that when the latter is set to a position wherein the air entering the casing is caused to now through the heat radiating member, said valve will be moved to a position wherein substantially all of the air passing through the tube will now into said casing, and tubes adapted to conduct air from said casing to the lower inside edge of the vehicle windshield.

ARTHUR J. SCHUTT. WILLIAM J. DI BEAUBIEN. 

